TURKEY. Airport operator İGA has revealed it will implement the latest technological advances to enhance passenger experience, reduce traveller stress and open up new commercial opportunities at Istanbul New Airport.
The İGA mobile app is being developed to provide information to passengers and enhance their journey by integrating a loyalty programme. This will be used for campaign management with retailers and food & beverage outlets, the operator said.
Technology will be implemented in the travel retail offer to help create memorable experiences for travellers such as 3-D hologram systems, smart/shopping carts with a charging function, mobile cash-registers and electronic customer profiling. A “Magic Mirror” application, for example, will allow customers to see virtually how watches, clothes or make-up products will look on them without physically trying them on.
Innovations will include using big data to manage passenger flow through the airport; implementing a bag drop desk and automated e-passport gates to help passengers get through the airport quicker; as well as building an intelligent car park.
As air traffic grows and creates new routes, airports need to adapt to the requirements and to become smarter and proactive to changing aviation dynamics and passenger needs, said the operator.
İGA said: “The goal of the smart airport is to make systems and processes digitally aware, interconnected, infused with intelligence and simple to access by passengers. Smart technology will dramatically change the way we run airports and fly. They will enhance passenger experience and reduce stress levels. In the light of this information, all advanced airports in the world were visited and information gathered, so as İGA, we are implementing all these technological solutions in the new airport.”
İGA will also implement technology to allow passengers to request and receive information relative to their location in the airport. It will allow passengers to provide feedback in real-time. By knowing where the passenger is in the airport, employees will provide immediate assistance.
Using big data will be used to proactively manage passenger flow through the airport, providing a real-time view of queues at security, immigration and other touchpoints in the airport – information İGA will provide to passenger through the app.
One central improvement at İstanbul New Airport will be a bag-drop desk enabling passengers to check in their luggage quickly and easily. After checking in online or at the airport kiosk, passengers will be able to weigh their bags and use their boarding pass at the self-bag tag kiosk located in the airport terminal to generate a label for their bag. The passengers will then be directed to the designated bag drop zone where they can transfer the luggage themselves.
After completing check-in process passengers who possess biometric chipped passports can use automated e-passport gates, avoid long lines, and get through passport control more quickly.
The operator is also building an intelligent Carpark with advanced systems like Parking Guidance with special cameras. Car licence plates will be monitored and recorded to register them into the parking lot and into a computerised system. Guests can scan their barcode on the ticket with their mobile devices. With the motion detection technology, video recording will start in case of movement detection such as crashes, robberies or inappropriate actions.
